It's time to dig out the winter duvet, hunt for your thermals and think about putting the central heating back on.

For after a pleasant week, forecasters say the weather will take a chilly turn for the worse this weekend.

Millions are expected to wake up to a frost this morning, while the Scottish highlands could see a dusting of September snow.

Cold snap: Forecasters say the weather will take a chilly turn for the worst

Although the cold snap won’t last, the first frost of the autumn for
many is an unwelcome sign that winter is just around the corner.

The mercury fell to 3c (37f) last night for much of the UK, with
forecasters saying there was a ‘slight chance’ temperatures could sink
to minus 2c (28f) in Aberdeen. ‘It’s pretty cold at the moment,
particularly at night,’ said the Met Office’s spokesman Barry Grommet.

‘Generally we are looking at temperatures of 3c and 4c at the lowest
and people who are out and about early in sheltered rural areas may see
some ground frost.’

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Although the nights are getting colder, Britain still has a long way to go to beat the record low September temperature of minus 6.7c (20f) in Dalwhinnie in the Highlands in September 1942.

The average night-time minimum for this time of year is 7c (45f).

‘On Saturday morning, there’s a tiny chance that Aberdeen could be
as cold as minus 2c,’ Mr Grommet added. ‘And there could be a very
light dusting of snow over the mountain tops in Scotland.’

The cold snap last night and tonight comes before the official end of summer – the September 23 autumn equinox – and the frosts will be an expensive headache for farmers harvesting spring barley across the country.

Today should be cloudy and temperatures will be closer to normal over the next few days.

Mr Grommet said: ‘On Saturday we will get the odd showers here and there. There’s a weak ridge of high pressure over the southern half of the UK and most of southern England will be mainly fine. There will be more in the way of showers further north.’

Tomorrow and the first half of next week will be cloudy, with some rain, but conditions will brighten up towards the end of the week.

Mr Grommet added: ‘The first half of the week will be grey and quite breezy but it looks like there will be a decent end to the week – possibly even stretching into next weekend.’